Zac's Hacks - Easy Telecaster Setup - Ask Zac 55 

Nice to hear someone else who goes by "feel" and not "feeler" gauges😄👍🏻

Here's Uncle Al's two cents on nuts and nut heights: First, if you have a set of slot files corresponding to your string gauges, throw aside the skinny high E file and use the B file for the the high E slot. And the G file for the B slot. And so on. You don't want the string to be all bound up by a zero-clearance slot and the file leaves the bottom of each slot round anyway, so what's the problem? The string will find the center of the slot. Secondly, the way you know a slot is too high is when the first fret plays sharp. The reason it plays sharp is you're stretching the string when you pull it down from that high slot to the fret. Deepenize the slot until the first fret plays five or six cents sharp. If you try to get it all the way down in tune the string will buzz and you messed up the nut. Oh, and have the bottoms of the slots slightly rising toward the fingerboard. Really. Listen to Uncle Al.

Got to love your simple, non-nonsense setup routine for Teles.

Zac, you're like the Bob Ross of all things telecaster. I love your videos. I learn a lot from them. Keep them coming!!

Old School. I love it! My setup process? I take it to my luthier who is also a killer Telecaster player and tell him set it up as you would set up your own guitar. My guitar always plays like butter when I get it back from him. Let me give a shout out to Ryan Lynn at Eastside Guitar Repair in Portland, OR.

Nothing beats a well broken in Tele! By far the most versatile guitar and the perfect guitar for beginners in it's simplicity. Raw, clean, distorted, overdrive, wah wah all sound better to me on a Tele than any other model.

Can't explain how helpful this was! Being an engineer I was hell bent on measuring stuff and my tele just wasn't playing. This gave me the confidence to follow my gut and not have that nagging feeling that I didn't do it right.This stuff is gold - thanks!

Great stuff Zac! Glad to see that I'm not alone in going by feel rather than "by the book" when setting up my tele. And love the Jerry Jeff Walker nod. RIP

So glad I found this channel. I love the intro to these videos. It makes me feel like I'm watching Mr. Rogers neighborhood as a kid again every time I watch a new episode.

I'm blown away. I've watched maybe 15 of your videos so far and you've opened up a whole new world for me. I can't believe how much I've learned and I'm just beginning!

Interesting to hear your approach, thank you. I agree that doing what you feel comfortable with is best; I’ve watched so many Dave’s World of Fun Stuff videos that his advice is pretty much ingrained in me!

Zac this episode is so helpful. There arent alot of guys who really know how to set up vintage tele... really- thank yoh

Thanks zac! Great timing since I just finished painting my tele and reassembling! You did respond to me about trying the capo on first fret. Worked great

I do the same, and was told that was the wrong way of doing it, so I tried putting to specs, hated it, so I put it back. Thanks Zac for showing, right is what works for you.

It's nice to know there are others that do this. This was a uplifting and awesome tutorial Zac! Beautiful teles!

I check the individual nut slot depths by sight and feel also. Finger each string at the 3rd fret, then tap the string behind the 3rd fret. It shouldn’t have too much “play” and should just barely clear the top of the 1st fret. If it’s resting on the top of the 1st fret, the slot is too deep, too much play and the slot isn’t deep enough.

Thanks for another great episode. I really enjoyed your insight on how you set up your Telecasters.

Zac, I come back to this video over and over with my Teles. Such good hacks and simple, good advice. Thank you once again.

Been waiting on this one and enjoyed it. I've done setups by measuring and by feel and by feel wins every time to my ear and hand. Great Info!

Thanks. Goth rocker circa 94 here. Love my blue 92 Tele plus and like your advice. Thanks man.

This is awesome! Great job simplifying something that’s always felt really complicated to me.

I enjoy every show! I pretty much do the same thing in my set ups but I have been using tools for nut slotting and I will be using your capo hack. The Stew-Mac truss rod tool is a time saver for vintage 21 fret necks.

Thank you for the straightforward advice that makes so much sense.

this was just an eyeopener of a show, thanks so much Zac! Put a capo on the first fret of my guitar... now I want to leave it there! Enjoyed the 'Hacks'!

No idea how I missed this. Your playing is awesome. Thanks for being!💙

Thank you for sharing impressive videos,great tips and advice. I do the basic set ups myself by feel for the past 50 years and you are confirming a lot of what I been thinking for years. Feel been more important to me then tone , if I dont like the feel I'm not going to play a certain instrument that much I'm not going to hear very much tone . Thanks Zac , you are an inspiration with these videos.

Big fan of the channel Zac. I’m new to teles and the section on pickup height was really helpful.

Great episode. I really like the pickup height suggestion. Thanks!!

Thanks...great video on setting up a Tele. The neck pickup has always been a question for me as far as height is concerned but now I know where to start.

Impressive video with great tips- especially the pickup height. You're truly an inspiration! Thanks Zac!

I love your show zac!! Thank you! Your show on “what a stratocaster is for “ was excellent as well!!

Been setting mine up exactly the same way since 1970, my idea of what feels right is usually a lot different than a techs

The pickup height hack worked! Improves clarity and volume. Took awhile to get an ear for matching the output from high e to low e and from front to back pickups but well worth the effort. Thanks.

Excellent advice on pickup height adjustment by ear. Compensation for pickup output string to string and pickup to pickup will maximize available tonal range within the limits of the electronics installed. Every instrument is a system and needs to assessed and adjusted as such ( including the player it is set up for).

Hey Zac, great video. I'm setting up a partscaster I just put together and this helped. I just found your channel today, but you and I go back a number of years to when I owned the TDPRI. Good to see you.

Great video - myself, and all my guitarist friends set our guitars up similar to this. by feel, not by measurements. Great video to show people that you don't have to be a technical wizard to get your guitar playing good.

I just cancel my appointment with my therapist. this is relaxing my friend!

That's exactly how I used to set up my guitars. Hogy over with komet amps told me I had it too close and the pickup was pulling the string slightly out of tune. I just never noticed it. It was right after I replaced a bridge pickup in a Les Paul deluxe to a lollar p90. Loving the content.

Thanks for the Hank DeVito rundown - he has given me much pleasure, including the album cover of that great record. I saw him back in the day with The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble.

Thank you very much. I enjoy your videos. The pickup height adjustment hack is what I was needing. Fender's height adjustment is 1/8 " from bottom of the bass side of the pickup to the top of the magnet. The opposite little e is 1l16". I like you hack, because it has to cooperate with the top of the fret.

Love the content, Zac. My 20th Anniversary ('82-02) Squire Fat Tele sat for awhile. Smitten, bought it in '05. Partial mill and dress, much like the '95 G400 i bought new then sold. Repair guy said he hard balled Fender so i didn't pay anything. Still plays great. Those were the days,,,,Store's gone now.

Very helpful video. I too use the Stewmac tool and remove the pick guard to adjust the neck relief. I’m pretty sure the nut is too high on all of my guitars. I never realised. Very enlightening, great hacks. Many thanks.

From Leo: I appreciate you sharing your experience. No method is wrong if it works and causes no damage. The beauty of a Telecaster is that it is pretty straight forward to keep playing right.

Great video with many practical tips. Thanks for sharing the pick and finger piece too.

Very educational Zac. Love the videos.

Think i will be returning to this video, for info for many years. Thanks

Great stuff! One thing that I’ve found, is that it’s a good idea, to recheck the intonations after adjusting the pickups. I’ve occasionally noticed slight changes, after doing pickup adjustments.

Thanks, Zac! for the free helpful information. I'm tryna deal with a too-trebly bridge pickup so I think this might be helpful. Good luck and good times!

Another good one Zac, and your lesson this time almost sounds like a nod to Jerry Jeff Walker. If you haven’t tried that little StewMac truss rod tool, it really is a good thing!

Great video! I'd like to see some more Zac's hacks!

Love your down to earth,common sense tips.! I’m an old bassist and we always did the work on our own equipment.. couldn’t afford it otherwise.. lol.. I had a real “duh moment “ when you said to listen for a buzz when you’re using the radius gauge..!! Hah.! I can’t believe I never thought of that..! Live n learn,ay…? Thanks much!👍🏼

An enjoyable episode Zac. Thank you for your insight.

Thanks Zak, useful tips for dialing in my tele..much appreciated.

..nice opening 👍...also nice to hear someone setting up a guitar by feel ....like Zac

I'm glad you don't do the usual mindless pentatonic widdling that other people do in RU-vid videos. You really make that Tele sound great.

Great video, I was glad to hear you set up by feel as well, I do get the best results. Nice to know I’m doing things right haha, thanks for the tip on pickup hight, it help a lot. Have a blessed day my friend thanks for the awesome videos,

Zac this was an outstanding episode!!!!

this helped me so much more then the vids of guys fannying around with all the gadjets n stuff, Now my tele feels great , Cheers.

Watching your video I feel vindicated in the way I've been setting up my guitars since I was a kid, Back in San Antonio in the late 60's me and my friends had to figure out how to make our guitars play like we wanted them to ourselves. Thanks for the video, Zac. The walk down part of the lick you're playing is exactly how i've been playing the intro to Mr. Bojangles for 0ver 50 years. RIP Jerry Jeff Walker. BTW, I bought my first MusicKraft neck 20 years ago and they've been very good to me. They make a nice product.

Love the truss rod adjustment hack. Most of the Fenders that I am using mostly have the adjustment at the bottom of the neck.

About harmonics: when setting intonation, I use a precision tuner, a Boss one that shows cents, and play the harmonic and then fret the note. It often is sharp because the action is too high and I am effectively bending the note sharp by fretting it. So back to the whole setup again till I get it right.

Hi Zac I just got my first Telecaster yesterday. A 2007 Highway One Telecaster in honey blonde with a rosewood board.

Many thanks Zac....wonderfully informative !

Thanks Zac. Interesting perspective on setup. Honestly I don’t have enough experience with the process to “wing it” or e”eye ball it” while setting up my Teles. I fear it would be a mess. It would be fantastic if you would take your measurements then share them with us to use as guidance while setting up our guitars. After the set up then we can tweak the settings for feel. You could also submit them for possible inclusion in Dan Erlewines book. You obviously know Dan included setup specs for instruments. Belonging to several renowned players. Thanks again Zac!

That’s a cool intro, I always liked those descending notes while keeping the treble same , gonna have to try and steal that if that’s ok !🙂

Thank you Zac! Always enjoyable and helpful. 🙂👍

This is why I'm glad I have a light touch. I hopefully won't have divots in my frets for a very long time. Hopefully not ever, tbh. I learned that early on, after someone explained that my fingers don't have to touch the fretboard when fretting notes and its ok if it doesn't. That changed everything for me.

How have i never seen this channel before, great video! subbed :)

Great episode Zac. Thank you

Trust Zac to do the best video I've seen on this. Personally, I love your approach. I don't get why some techs have an army of tools. I just don't think it's necessary. If _I_ can set up a guitar with three tools then anybody can.

To adjust the neck on a heel of a tele take off the pickguard and use the Stew Mac or similar tool. Way easier then loosening neck screw.

I have been using those same "radius guages" out of Dan's book for years. 👍😎

Thanks, im getting on my pickups right now. I never had any idea.

Great lesson. Nice simple but effective tips.

Fantastic Zac, fantastic demo. I am glad you don't advocate much relief. I was fortunate enough to work for Santa Cruz Guitar company in a marketing capacity for a very brief period. And asked a boatload of questions about how guitars work. One of the most skill craftsman there Stephen Strahm was doing warranty repairs and set ups, he told me that the neck should be as straight as you can possibly get it. I played the guitars before and after he did his thing. And the difference was always astounding. The physics behind resonance and a straight neck not only make for a better playing instrument but a better sounding instrument. I think a straight neck takes away less vibration from the guitar than a relieved one. My two cents.

For some reason I half expected to see the Jerry Donahue intonation method which he uses for straight saddles, he claims is better than using compensated saddles. Good stuff as always Zac!

First video I have found that actually explains how to set-up your guitar, or at least the first one I easily understand

Your knowledge is priceless.

Another great video Zak, I really love the way you develop and deliver a story, all the way down to the tone and cadence of you voice. This might sound weird, but you remind me so much of Bob Phillips, the Texas Country Reporter. If I didn’t know any better I’d say you two have to be related. If you don’t know who I mean, Google him and check out a story or two. Bob has been traveling the back roads of Texas telling fascinating stories of people and businesses he finds along the way. Stories that define Texas. Anyhow, I hope you take the comparison as the compliment it’s meant to be. Keep doing what you’re doing. You’re very entertaining and informative.

Thanks so much Zac! This video is awesome!

Great channel. Very valuable infos are shared here. Greetings from Turkey dear Zac 🤘

I got a lot out of this video. I’ve used the tiny piece of paper under the string at the nut many times before. It’s good to show ways of dialing in your Tele without a lot of equipment. Simple is best for me every time.

A day later than usual but well worth waiting for. Thanks Zac. I have a Squier Classic Vibe that I am going to try my newfound skills on!

I prefer "tips"--thank you for your perspective. Setting your way without tools makes more "player" sense. I learned quite a bit on this blog.

Great episode Zac. The chord after the F is C/E ( it looks like Am7/E)

Neck relief checking fret selection procedure is: which ever highest fret you have minus the first fret then divide by two will identify the fret to nearly not be touching. Be sure to look at both the thinnest and thickest strings. This allows you to also compensate for any neck twist.

I always enjoy the clips!

I do find that a string action gauge is useful in the beginning as you learn your preferences. Then once you know the feel you are after, it’s not so necessary anymore. One thing that I think has to be set by eye is the relief. I use the same method of using the string at a straight edge and eyeballing and tapping at the 7th fret to check the amount of relief. I like a very straight neck, and gauges invariably lift up the string and cause way more problems than they solve. The best “tool” for guitar setups is the string winder attachment for your electric screwdriver ...

I love the 10/38 set... got 'em on every thing

Interesting video. Back in the day I think that we all set up our guitars by eye, ear and, more importantly, feel. I remember taking ages adjusting intonation by ear before electronic tuners became easily available. These days I do own one of those string action measuring rulers but still do things by ear, eye, and feel.

Solid, excellent advice.

I replaced the string trees on my strat and tele with graphtech string trees. Made a difference in tuning.

Nice anecdote about the multitalented steel player, Hank DiVito. . Like Pete Kleinow. Sneaky Pete was an award winning special effects artist in the movie industry the whole time he was playing with the Burritos and other West Coast bands.

I just followed your method for PU height setting (from 16:08 in the video). In my case, this resulted in settings which differ strongly from the general recommendations given by PU manufacturers (even Fender). My neck is now much higher, my bridge is much lower, and the PU's are balanced now, for the first time. Also, that neck starts giving me some of that voluptuous tone which I know was hiding there. Very successful hack, thanks Zac. (one day I'll try getting the neck off that tone pot too..)

Hi Zac I’m new to the channel but not on guitar playing! First I’m more then pleased that I found your channel, very interesting advices and you really know what your talking about. I personaly have 3 Telecaster and an Esquire and I very enjoyed them. Personaly I prefer my Esquire VS my Telecasters but it’s just a personal preference. Anyway I really enjoyed your advices, thanks. Gino

Thanks Zac great video. Ordered a mug while I was watching.

I am a new guitar player and have just purchase a cheap Harley Benton TE70 and then found your channel. Thank you so much for this, your style of teaching/informing people is amazing. sent a tip as an appreciation of this video

Beautiful tunes, love this channel

This is great information, thank you so much for sharing!!

I agree 100% with your setup method. I also use my eyes, hands and ears as my guide.